Mayor vows to push for extended transit service

Winnipeg’s mayor has promised to push for more late night bus service, though he doesn’t yet have a commitment that city council will vote for such changes.

A news release issued Thursday was entitled “Mayor to transit riders: ‘More late night buses are on the way.’”

But Mayor Scott Gillingham noted the changes will largely be considered in the 2026 budget process and would require council approval.

He said he is confident, but not certain, the not-yet proposed changes will be approved.

“We’re working on it as quickly as possible… I can’t predetermine what councillors are going to do (but)… one of the changes many councillors want to see is a restoration of some late night service on some of the residential routes,” said Gillingham.

The mayor said it would be a “surprise” to see many councillors vote against that, since the earlier end to some bus routes has been a key complaint from commuters. Many say they can no longer ride transit home after their shifts end, following a massive overhaul of the bus network in June.

The mayor’s comments follow ample complaints about that new network, which led Winnipeg Transit to make a few early changes and promise that more will follow.

Transit is preparing a formal plan to extend bus service hours for council to consider in November, Gillingham said.

He said that report will determine how many hours could be added, which routes they would affect and how much the expansion would cost.

The mayor said he hopes to complete the 2026 budget process by the end of this year. However, he said some changes might be possible sooner, if they can be made within existing 2025 budget resources.

“I don’t have a date on that, but (we’ll make changes) as soon as possible,” said Gillingham.

On Thursday, a city councillor called for the same change, while also urging transit to restore certain bus stops removed during the network overhaul. That transformation cut the number of bus stops in the city to 4,000 from roughly 5,200.

“I want to hear today that service will be restored (at) nighttime, and I want to hear that stops in front of clinics and hospitals will be restored. Anything other than that, I won’t be satisfied,” said Coun. Sherri Rollins (Fort Rouge-East Fort Garry).

Rollins raised a motion at Thursday’s city council meeting that calls for those key changes, as well as restoring stops around seniors homes and secondary schools. It also calls for much more information on transit ridership data and budget proposals for next year.

“We need action, and we need to talk about it as a council,” she said.

When asked about expanding bus stops, the mayor said all changes requested by residents will be considered.

Rollins’ motion will be considered at next month’s city council meeting.

joyanne.pursaga@freepress.mb.ca

X: @joyanne_pursaga